Hello all!

So I made it to Good Shepherds Fold last Friday! The drive to GSF is so very beautiful!  It’s really hard to express how beautiful Uganda is, especially near GSF, (haha maybe I don’t get out much but I think it is VERY beautiful…) so I will try to show you through LOTS and lots of pictures!

Drive up to GSF

Village

Sugar Cane Fields

But to verbally describe to you there’s green everywhere ---from the tall sugar cane fields to the tall grass covering the hills, to the brownish broccoli looking trees (they really look like broccoli that’s getting old), to the banana and mango trees surrounding the random scattered mud hut or brick buildings!

Right before you enter GSF site--GSF sign

the school on site

GSF campus

Admin block/clinic with chapel in background

chapel

Being at Good Shepherds fold, which is in the midst of villages, but not too far off from The Dairy (in Jinja), where I’ve had the best passion pineapple ice cream ever, I’ve been (and I am still am) learning so much. I’m humbled by the realization of how comfortable I’ve been before (which is even more humbling because GSF is pretty comfortable:).

GSF campus--water tower 

GSF houses

I’ve learned that gecko poop is as big as mouse poop, I’ve learned to silently kill grasshoppers that crawl up my skirt during communion, I’ve learned how wonderful my kitchen light is because it electrocutes half the bugs flying around—(sucks for them), I’ve learned how wonderful it is to have DOOM (bug spray) and a fly swatter (I’ve broken off three of the fingers from the fly swatter already)

my room

I’ve learned to not freak out when I hear the bats partying right above me (although it really sounds like it’s in my room or that they’ll break the paper-thin ceiling) I’ve also learned why Batman was scared of bats (I will not judge you Batman), I’ve learned how to do malaria tests, I’ve learned what a hyrax sounds like (they cry out a lot during the night and it sounds like a cross between a dying goat and a turkey with it’s head cut off ---look it up), I’ve learned that my feet will be continuously brown and dirty no matter how many times I wash it (or maybe I’m just not clean/washing it well), I’ve learned that these kiddos love the camera and want to see themselves all the time (they will say--“let me see Richard” “Let me see Tony”, etc, etc), I’ve learned to ignore the flies that swarm my face while I’m trying to read with my headlamp (yes, I have a headlamp…), and I’ve learned that people assume any Asian person is from China, hence being asked if I am from China all the time.

Baby Arthor

Pinto and Richard

Elijah, baby Letitica, and me

the Agape boys--tried to get them to all look up but it's hard getting group pictures

Baby John

Ivan

I am still learning and in the process of not fearing killing spiders with my bare hands because there is no tissue with me at the moment (okay… I can only do little ones), I’m learning that my job consists of being a Dr., pharmacist, and nurse at times, I’m learning tricks in taking quick cold showers (although China helped me with that one), I’m learning the importance of brushing the top of my head with my hand when I feel the slightest “something” because the majority of time it’s a bug, I’m learning a little bit of soccer, I’m learning (haven’t said I accomplished this yet) to not care when stepping barefoot on bugs (there’s a lot all over the floor—I really hope I don’t have to step on a centipede), I’m learning not to be so dependent on internet (because it’s really hard to get any signal here), I’m learning the works of the markets to get meat, veggies, fruits, and fish

Veggies/Fruit market

Fish Market

Meat Market

I’m learning the workings of mercy ministries (ministering to the elderly, moms, and babies), I’m learning that flu does not mean they have the flu all the time, I’m learning the gist of the schedule here, I'm learning my responsibilities as a nurse, and I’m learning to respond to “Auntie Kenny” because some of the toddlers call me that.

Elijah and Richard

Shakira 

Daudi and Joseph 

Betty and Lily 

Besides all that silliness, I’m learning how blessed I am that God placed me here first instead of the hospital (see previous post if you do not understand). I think God knew that I would need this month (or however long) here first so that I would be a little more settled a GSF before the other nurse, Danielle (from Kentucky), leaves. He knows me better than I know myself!

Nurse Danielle with the babies (Timothy and Joshua)

I’m also learning the importance of turning to God in all things and depending on Him. It’s funny, once I got here everything that seemed to come natural and easy to me before seemed hard and impossible and the things that I feared the most have become a reality. But God is showing me that I need to rely on Him--from the littlest things, like memorizing all the children’s names, to the bigger things, like treating and diagnosing the children and elderly (mercy ministries).  It’s humbling knowing how weak I am (probably already would’ve given up by now) but realizing that it is not by my strength that I can do anything at all but through His grace and strength that He can work through an inadequate me (& that things take time!). I’ve been resting on this truth:

2 Corinthians 12: 9-10 “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities, for when I am weak, then I am strong.“

Pray that I will be able to daily rely on Christ and that He will help me with wisdom & insight in how to diagnose & treat these children

Pray that I will trust in Him in all things and continue to do so

Pray for local friends and missionary friends

Pray that God will use me for His kingdom

GSF

Recounting His blessing through travel mercies and my first week here!

Hello! 
No worries if this post is too long! You can just look at the pictures or read the bold statements which pretty much summarizes everything! 

I made it to Uganda safely! Uganda is such a beautiful country! So green, so many hills, and so many beautiful people!

Panoramic of Uganda-my walk to AIM's guest house

Plane ride/travels went well!: I met a Muslim lady on the plane named Yasmine. She was going on a pilgrimage to Mecca. We had some good conversations (at least I thought we had some good convos). I pray that God used our time together to show her more of Christ and who He is.

Thanks for sending me off!

Got ALL my luggage. Was able to pull it off the carousel! YIPEE! Thanks for prayers--God seriously helped me! I think that's why I got a sprain! A reminder to truly rely on Him and not on myself!
Thankfully, when I had to put it through the X-ray again-- someone saw me struggling and helped me put it on the scanner (haha probably also because he was in a hurry and I was taking a long time struggling to put it through the scanner!).

Sprained ankle is better and didn't really swell up on the plane-- although my ACE wrap smelled and reeked of sweat! I think I will wash it :)

I got to Dubai with a 12 hour layover! I explored Dubai for a few hours. Got to see Bharj Khalifa (tallest building in the world), spice market, gold market, textile market, dancing fountains. and got to ride an abra (boat taxi). It was fun and I was tired! Rhonda's daughter's friend Karen was able to take me around! So blessed by my time with her!

Dubai

Spice market 

Gold Market

With Karen, my tour guide! 

Bharj Khalifa

Arrived in Uganda on Sunday:  Got my 3 month visa with no problem, met a couple of missionary families/2single missionaries & most of the central region AIM staff at the Matoke Inn where I am staying at right now (AIM's guest house for AIM missionaries & others), & heard how God has been working here and in the lives of the missionaries/staff/AIM!

AIM guest House --where I stayed at the first week--Matoke Inn

Matoke Inn--supposedly there are monkeys in the trees?!

Walk outside of Matoke Inn

I am seriously encouraged by all the missionary families that I've met this week ( they were stopping by @ Matoke Inn to rest before they leave for home leave/finished their assignment). I am seriously amazed by all the missionary families  & even more amazed with the ones who raise their children here! I was encouraged by a family who brought their 6 week baby here and 1 year old daughter on their 6 month assignment! AMAZING! I would be so scared but their trust in God was evident. They are hoping to go FT. 
SERIOUSLY, all of the missionaries' advice, tips, and life have been an encouragement and testimony to me!

some of the mkids playing chess

Also, during orientation (on Tuesday), I was able to hear how God's been working in the Central Region (Chad, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, & Uganda) of Africa through the work of AIM. It was such an encouragement to me to hear about all the ministries there are to make disciples and to reach the unreached!!

Dwelling Places

Wednesday, I was able to visit Dwelling Places. Dwelling places is a Christian ministry that rescues children from the slums of Uganda by building relationships with these children & assessing their needs. The organization provides a transitional care home for these children in hopes to help with rehabilitation (hygiene, counseling, etc) and provide skills and training for these children. Their hope is to assess the needs of the children, find out their story, and hopefully reconcile (if safe) these children back to their families as soon as it is safe to do so. There are 20 boys and 5 girls now--9 of them who were just rescued from the slums! I met one of the girls who was just rescued and she was the sweetest little girl ever. Wish I had a picture with her! These children are soooo easy to love. 
I'm so glad that my nursing interview (see below) was postponed so that i could see this ministry! Such a blessing and encouragement to me. 

Bodas in action in Kampla! (also the public taxi is in the background)

I also rode my first boda (scooter like motorcycle thing) to Dwelling places! I thought that if it was anything like the scooter ride in China---I WOULDN'T survive. BUT this boda ride was the best ride ever and so much fun! So exhilarating! Maybe I will get a motorcycle license back in the states...haha jk...I was able to talk to one of my boda drivers about his life and faith (he said he is a christian).

Me & Rhona-AIM's orientation guide

Today, Thursday, I went into the busy city of Kampala (Uganda's capital) with Rhona (AIM staff). Loved spending time with her, talking to her, and being encouraged by her and her testimony. She taught me  how to travel into the city by boda & public taxi (basically a van filled with 14 or so people in it used as public transportation-think of a van that's a bus),  helped me get settled with some necessities for my stay here,  and took me to the important sites-like an ice cream shop (and the post office)! 

Taxi Park

part of the city of Kampala

Tomorrow, Friday, I will be off to Good Shepherd's Fold. I hope my time there for this month will be good (since I can't do nursing yet --see below Prayer Request). I hope to get to know the area, the missionaries, the locals, the children ,& serve in other ways! I am excited to see what God will do this month! He has His reasons for why I can't start using nursing right away and I'm excited to see why!

Prayer Request: SOOO I cannot be interviewed by the Ugandan nursing council this month due to some difficulties ( they only interview once a month). Because of this, I won't be able to work as a nurse right away (I think it pushes back my hospital internship and also working as a nurse at GSF). Please pray that next month I will be able to get an appointment, that it will go smoothly, and for God to use this one month without nursing well!


PS I found out that there's oyster sauce and soy sauce here! Just FYI for those who were wondering. haha. PPS sorry if there's typos/mistakes. 

waking up @ 330 every am pays off! UG sunrise

Prayers!

HI everyone!

I'm leaving for Uganda in 2 days!! Yay!

Please pray for healing! I just sprained my ankle and it's a bit hard to walk!

Thank you!

Recounting His blessings as He has Sovereignly directed my life to this point

I've been meeting up with a lot of people.  I am blessed in so many ways by these hangouts. Not only am I given the joy in meeting up with my friends but it gives me time to reflect on my life and verbally barf all over people (i'm a verbal processor) because of the questions asked about life & about missions (How & why I decided to go on missions, why Africa, why Uganda, how did I get to this point, etc, etc...). This, in turn, allows me to think about God's goodness and faithfulness. THANK you friends & hangouts. 

I'm thankful for these questions because it has helped me remember how God's plan is wonderful and good. How He is sovereign. How He has definitely planned every step/instance/situation in my life in preparation for this year in Africa (and who knows what else!) Recounting my story in how I got to this decision gives me peace & I have no doubt that this missions trip is where God has placed me to go right now (unless He shows me otherwise of course).

Since I was younger, God has placed on my heart compassion for children, especially children who are hurting and have had difficult lives; children such as orphans and foster care children. 

My desire for these children were to bring these children hope and help them find joy during the hard times in their lives.  God, thankfully and repeatedly showed me through various situations with children who were hurting and through my own life that the one thing anyone needs is Christ, not worldly counsel or possessions’, but a relationship with Jesus Christ who will give them true hope and true joy.

Throughout high school and college, God was working in my heart a love for missions and the importance of missions, mission field, and missionaries.  Through these missions trips in high school (winter missions trips to rural areas in NorCal to work with children) and in college (a trip to China) He has shown me the need to reach the lost with the gospel and how we, as Christians, are all called as missionaries (whether local or abroad--wherever we are!).   

Throughout college God also gave me a heart for medical missions. As I studied to become a nurse,  the one thing that gave me strength as I struggled with the craziness of nursing school was the excitement to see how God could use me as a nurse to reach out to people physically, emotionally, and spiritually! I was excited for the opportunities He would give me as a nurse! Also, I secretly made it my goal to want to do medical missions for a couple of weeks when I finished nursing school (but wasn't sure if it was possible and honestly had my doubts that it would happen).

Anyways, I was trying to figure out what God wanted me to do with those desires.  I always thought God wanted me to go short term to China to reach out to the orphans as a nurse. Nope. Not His plan. 

Who knew I'd be going to Africa?! I NEVER thought I would be going to Africa (it honestly never crossed my mind--I always thought Africa was for other people & was excited for them but never thought of going to Africa myself) but then God happened (well He was happening throughout this whole time) and He used a missions trip to Kenya to show me! 

A member from Lighthouse church (Mitchell) asked our young adult group if anyone was interested in going to Kenya to serve the Beloved International Homes  ( an organization dedicated in bringing orphans the hope of spiritual adoption into God's family through the gift of physical adoption by Christian Kenyan parents/homes). After much thought and turmoil (I committed to going to Thailand before this & I really wasn't sure about Africa) I decided to go! I wanted to see what God would show me and if this "compassion for orphans/foster care children" was really something that I wanted to pursue. I wanted to see what God would do through this trip. 

I went to Kenya and was SOOOOO blessed.  God used that time in Kenya with Beloved Intl. to show me what a joy it is to serve ANY and ALL orphaned children, bring them the hope we have in Christ, and the fruits of doing so (It was a blessing being able to see how these children who had horrible pasts and were obviously hurt had so much joy because their lives were transformed because of Christ!)

It isn’t just a desire to want to play or be there for these children (although that’s a HUGE bonus for me) but a desire for these children to know Christ and share in the hope we have in Him so that they too could be adopted into God’s family and grow to be women and men who love and fear Christ and further His kingdom. He affirmed my desire in wanting to serve these children and made me  think of ways I can do so. 

When I got back home to SoCal, after much prayer and counsel (more turmoil with deciding), I decided I wanted to GO and serve these orphaned children for a longer period of time. God gave me this desire to go to Africa, gave me the perfect timing to go (nothing was physically holding me back from going), and He made me the way I am (personality, desires, and all) making it the perfect opportunity to go and serve at this time.

Throughout this time of looking for opportunities to go to Africa, God opened opportunities for me to serve as a nurse to foster care children in California. I had no clue what God was doing--giving me this desire to go to Africa as a missionary and then opening up JOB opportunities to work with foster care children (another one of my desires!). I wasn't sure if God was pointing me to local missions by working with foster care children in CA. Thankfully, He revealed to me "no" because after He opened those doors He closed them. Not sure what was going on with all of that but through this job situation I was given peace about going overseas (so now I'm not left questioning..what ifs...)

As I was pursuing mission organizations--I focused specifically on going back to Kenya. Through a friend of a friends reference & emailing administration of a school in Kenya (RVA) for opportunities, I was led to Africa Inland Missions (AIM). AIM found me a position in Kenya to work as a public health nurse with orphans (I would travel to different cities and villages to teach and assess the health needs of children and other people). I was going to take this position but throughout the "waiting" time I started researching all of Africa (via AIM's website and videos) & God was breaking my heart and opening it to be open to anywhere in Africa. I decided to see what other opportunities were out there throughout Africa and not say "Yes" to the opportunity in Kenya just yet. 

That is when God opened the door to Uganda. One of AIM's short term coordinators, Stephanie, sent me an opportunity that Good Shepherds Fold, in Jinja, Uganda, was looking for a nurse to work and live at the home for orphans. PERFECT opportunity for me because while I was thinking about Kenya's mission opportunity, one thing I wished that that opportunity had was the ability to live with the orphans. I desired to stay at the orphan homes so that I could minister to these children and build relationships with them by living with them. After much prayer & counsel I decided Uganda because I would be able to live there & minister to them as a nurse!

During that period of deciding about Uganda I was on a missions trip to Thailand working with orphaned/trafficked children. Being the crazy person I am, I really LOVED Thailand as well but God sovereignly showed me  that Thailand was not the place where He wanted me to go now since 1) I committed to Africa already (and told AIM yes!) and  2) I felt peace & joy in going to Africa because I knew that anywhere I went I would find joy in serving the children that God placed in my life. 3)After much research in Africa my heart grew for the lost there. 

So that's the long story short in how I got to this area in my life. 

It's funny (in the crazy way) how God orchestrated in my life His sovereign plan to give me perfect peace in "Why & how Africa". (I know I will still have questions and doubts-- but that's why I have this post to remember His sovereignty and direction in my life!). 

I'm not claiming to understand everything God is doing in my life, nor do I know half of what He is doing at times, nor am I saying I am perfect in seeing His will for me (because I am not and fail ALL the time),  but it's been awesome recounting His goodness and sovereignty (in what He has allowed me to see in my life) in how He provided and led me to Africa.  I know I still have LOTS and LOTs of questions, some that may not be able to be answered now, but remembering his goodness reminds me that I can trust and rest in Him and know that He is in control and sovereign over my life. Recounting His sovereignty in my life is helpful in me seeing How faithful and good He is and how everything has a purpose for my good and for His Glory. God is good. 

When my faith and trust wavers. Please REMIND me of His GOODNESS & Sovereignty. 



Prayer Request: I've been thinking about how I am SOOO not a morning person. Please pray for strength, rest, and cheerfulness as I probably have to wake up early (@ least I think earlier than work here...). Haha, I know, very interesting prayer request but it's something I've been thinking about a lot. I want to serve with a joyful heart and not let waking up early affect my attitude in my ministry! 

more prayer requests to come!